PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER

By Dr. Eric C. Stumpf, Senior Pastor

St. Paul’s Ev. Lutheran Church – Munster, IN

 + Pentecost 17 + James 5:13-20

27 September 2009

             The New Testament records and the tradition of the church recognized James, the author of our Epistle this morning, was the brother of Jesus.  This would make James a younger brother or relative of Jesus.  We also know in the Gospel that Jesus’ family did not always understood Jesus’ mission and were not “followers” of Jesus, as the disciples were, until after the resurrection. 

            After Jesus ascended into heaven the leadership of the apostle would seem to have fallen to Peter or one of the other well known apostles, but instead it seemed to fall on James.  He clearly was the leader of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 which took place about 15 years after Jesus’ resurrection.  At that time the church was predominately Jewish, i.e., people of the Jewish faith who recognized and embraced Jesus as the promised Messiah.  But these were dark days with the church being oppressed and Christians being persecuted.  Many were forced to flee Jerusalem and go into the Mediterranean world.

            James therefore in his general letter to the Church notes the common problems Christians shared at this time and therefore speaks to the same problems we face even today.  James deals with sin, hardship, and illness.  James provides a solution that was valid in his day as it is today, “Pray for one another.” 

What Is Our Goal This Morning?

            After hearing the Word of God, and by the gracious ministry of the Holy Spirit to bring us to faith, prayer is one of the most important things a Christian can do in his or her life.  Prayer is something every Christian who is still breathing can do.  Whether you are a small child learning your bedtime prayers from your parents or an elderly seriously infirmed adult who can’t even feed yourself anymore, you can pray.  Prayer is commanded by our Heavenly Father who wants us to be close to Him.  God provides wonderful promises with prayer – that he will hear the prayers of faith a child of God makes, God will exercise his good and gracious will in our lives when we pray for it – “Ask, and it will be given to you.”  Our brother Jesus taught us a special prayer we can all use, and indeed we do.  The Lord’s Prayer is one of the few things all Christians can do together from memory.  I am reminded of this at funerals when you have a very mixed group of Christians from different background, with some who are active in their faith and those who have been very negligent in their practice, they still can come together and pray the Lord’s Prayer.

            Our goal is that the faith that brings you to God, the faith that receives the gift of eternal life, and the faith that compels you to live as a child of God would also lead and move you to pray on a daily basis for all the treasures God desires to give to you.  Faith seeks the good God has for you and for others, and faith expresses itself well in prayer. 

What Prevents Us From Reaching Our Goal?

            While prayer should be part of the Christian’s daily life, it often isn’t.  Satan, of course, would rather have us not pray at all.  He will use our sinful flesh, the care of the world, and his own tempting distractions to focus on many other things than prayer.  In a recent survey families were asked about their prayer practice.  These are people who are active in their faith, attend worship on a regular basis, and demonstrate a commitment to the faith.  Yet, half of the group do not pray before they go to sleep, only a quarter of them pray when they get up in the morning.  Half the group prays before they eat their evening supper and almost all of them did not pray before the other meals.  None said they gave thanks after they ate.  Of those who said they prayed before an evening meal did so at home, but out in the public – the family goes out to Country Buffet or Teibels, they never pray.  These are everyday uses of prayer. 

            The sin we contend with is the worldly distractions Satan so cleverly uses against us.  Luther lived about 500 years ago when medicine was pretty primitive by today’s standards and people were encouraged to pray for the sick and receive Holy Communion; yet, he wrote, “When one is restored nobody believes that it came about through the sacrament, but through the working of nature or of medicine.” (LW 36:120)  Prayer is not the last resort we turn to, but God should be the first we turn to when we are dealing with sin, hardship, and illness.

 What Means Does God Provide to Us to Overcome Our Sin?

            The answer to sin is forgiveness in Christ.  We have heard this often enough, but in order to apply it we seek out its purpose in living out our faith.  The prayer empowered by God in his child whom He has justified is extremely effective.  God is the author of our salvation, Jesus the perfector of our faith.  When we are justified, our sins are forgiven, we are made new again.  Christ at work in the new person empowers us and leads us to pray, to take God’s promises very seriously, and pray for the things we need and the things others need as well.  When we pray in faith, it is Christ praying with us, for us, over us, under us, through us, in order for God to accomplish His goals. Jesus is the means for our prayers.  That is why Luther summed it up so clearly when he wrote, “One who does not have the Word cannot pray.” (LW 2:19)

            Therefore with God in us we pray with commitment, not being distracted by the world.  We put prayer to work knowing how much and how often Jesus ministered to the sick during his earthly ministry and continues to answer the prayers of those who pray for the sick.  In addition we pray for those who suffer hardship, and there is plenty of hardship around these days to pray for. We pray for our sins and the sins of others that Christ would change and amend their lives.  Pastor Stock recently in a pastor’s conference shared this: When we pray healing, God will heal you here or in heaven. (Pastor’s Sermon Study, September 23, 2009, Redeemer-Highland, Indiana) 

            Sin is forgiven in Christ.  It is the means to overcome the sinful distractions of the world not to follow God’s command to pray for the things we need, for the sick and those in hardship.  Justified by the power of Christ, Christ in us turn with confidence and faith to the Lord in prayer, knowing God hears our prayers and acts in His good will for us.  Amen.

SDG